Hiccup the Heretic
by runawaysocks
Summary: Several years after the Battle of the Red Death, Berk is invaded by a mysterious man called Drago Bludvist who commands an army of dragons. The situation is dire, and Astrid has no choice but to turn to the only other person she knows that can control the beasts: Hiccup Haddock. Only problem is, he's long dead, and she doesn't know how long Drago will keep her people alive. (AU)
1. Berk Burns to a Crisp

**CHAPTER 1 - ASTRID**

Berk has known its fair share of destruction. Not particularly surprising, since the local wildlife averages at about ten feet tall, weighs a ton, and spits fire at anything that they find displeasurable.

But this… this was different. This wasn't just destruction. This was total annihilation.

"Snotlout!" I cried, though I could hardly hear myself. Chaos surrounded Berk, as explosion after explosion boomed through the night. "Snoutlout!" though futile, I tried again, searching for a reply. My voice was getting hoarse, as I breathed in smoke and ash.

Suddenly, a scaly snout shot out through the flames, teeth gleaming in the fire. I gasped as the air left my lungs and I fell to the floor. Someone pushed me out of the way right before the dragon snapped its jaws shut on my head. I looked up to see Snotlout, facing the beast that almost decapitated me.

"Astrid! I could use a little bit of help here!" he shouted as he nailed the Monstrous Nightmare in the face with a hammer.

"On it!" I scrambled for anything I could use as a weapon. There was my axe, a frying pan and a wooden spoon. Wood burns… so I left the spoon. With the most Viking-blooded war cry I could muster, I ran towards the dragon, pointing my axe and wielding the frying pan over my shoulder. As it turned to face me, I threw the pan at its face, effectively distracting it as I dove under its legs. As I slid, I sliced open its soft, unprotected belly. The enemy was down in seconds.

"Ugh I hate Monstrous guts," complained Snotlout, plugging his nose. I climbed out from under the corpse of my kill, covered with dragon remains.

"Well, you should probably get used to it, unless you'd rather be dead," I said, trying to wipe some of the slime off my chest.

"Well you know what? I can't help it if I-" Snotlout stopped mid-sentence and pointed to the dragon. "What in Midgard is _that_?"

"Snotlout, I know that you know exactly what a Montrous-" I trailed off as I turned around to look at the beast. I hadn't noticed before in the heat of the moment, but following Snotlout's finger, I noticed there was a metal collar wrapped around the dragon's neck. I looked back at Snotlout, who returned my perplexed gaze.

We didn't have time to ask any more questions, as a fireball plummeted towards us. We dove behind a stone wall and looked up to face our attacker. One very angry Gronkle buzzed towards us at amazing speed, considering its impossibly tiny wings. I noticed that this dragon, like the Monstrous Nightmare, wore an iron collar.

"You go left, see if you can distract it. I'll flank right and try to get it from behind," I ordered Snotlout, who nodded. Before we could move however, another Gronkle appeared left, blocking Snotlout's exit. Seemingly out of nowhere, another covered our right. We were effectively surrounded.

This wasn't right. This battle seemed to defy everything I thought I knew about dragons. Deadly Nadders were never so bold. Monstrous Nightmares were stealthier than ever. Gronkles never cooperated like they did in this very moment. They were faster, stronger, and most of all, smarter than ever before.

And last time I checked, dragons didn't care for _jewelry_. Those iron collars bothered me most of all.

The Gronkles opened their jaws, readying to fire. Snotlout clutched my hand. Without turning his gaze away from the dragons, he squeezed. "Astrid, before we die, I just want you to know that even though I have never admitted it, I always thought you were the best fighter in Berk, and the way you annihilate dragon scum makes me realize that I think I'm in-"

"Shut up and look!" I cut him off before he could finish.

A shadowy figure slowly made its way through the ash. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was another Viking. I waited for the Gronkles to turn around to face him, or for him to attack the dragons, but neither of them took their gaze off of Snotlout and I. The man limped closer, eventually standing right next to a Gronkle, and rested his hand on its side. The dragon didn't do so much as flinch. I looked into the man's shadowy face. I didn't recognize him, which could only mean one thing.

He was not from Berk.

He had a sharp, hooked nose and a canvas of scars littered his skin. However, it was his eyes that sent a chill down my spine. They were wild and deranged, but they also had an intense, disturbing focus. They locked with my own eyes, until it was I who eventually broke contact.

"Are you Snotlout, chief of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe?" the Viking demanded, his voice was deep and rough, with the touch of an accent I didn't recognize.

Snotlout stood up just a bit straighter. "I am," he answered. His fear didn't manifest in his voice. I was impressed.

The man briefly looked at Snotlout, scanning his figure up and down. He scoffed before whipping around and gesturing into the air. Before either Snotlout or I could respond, two dragons swooped through the air and grabbed us in their talons, ascending into the night sky.

I screamed, clutching the dragon's feet for dear life as the ground got smaller below me. I squeezed my eyes shut. I had hoped to die gloriously in battle. Sword through the heart. Burned to death. I wished that the Monstrous Nightmare had just bitten my head off. But falling to death? I couldn't imagine anything more terrifying or gruesome. I pictured my splattered remains on one of Berk's rooftops. Suddenly, the dragon dove towards the ground, and I felt my stomach go up into my chest. I screamed again, burying my face into the dragon's scaly feet.

The talons finally released me, but instead of plummeting, I felt myself softly drop to the ground, not even two feet below. I looked up to see what was Berk's Great Hall, which was, to my astonishment, not bursting in flames. I watched as a Deadly Nadder dropped Snotlout down beside me. He quickly got up onto his feet, but then stumbled, still dizzy from the ride.

"Who do you think you are!" He shouted. I followed his gaze to see the mysterious stranger had followed us here. He stood in the entrance of the Great Hall, the doors were open to the darkness within.

The stranger laughed a dark, cold laugh, and despite the fires raging around us, I shivered. Snotlout's gaze softened in confusion.

"You don't know?" the stranger yelled, almost gleefully. "You really don't know who I am?"

Snotlout stared at the man, dumbfounded. He looked at me, hoping for an answer. I frowned and shook my head. I was just as oblivious.

"You should be bowing down to me! Worshipping me! Kissing my feet!" he yelled. "And you don't know who I am?"

"Who are you?" Snotlout demanded, growing impatient.

Without skipping a beat, he shouted into the sky. "I am Drago Bludvist! Your savior! Your liberator! Be thankful to me, for I have come to save you from the scourge of these dragons once and for all!"

"You! You're controlling them!" I shouted, as realization hit me.

Suddenly, it made sense. The way the dragons fought together. Smarter, and with organization. The way this Viking had walked among the Gronkles without aggression. The iron collars. Somehow, this man was commanding the beasts. And they were obeying.

The stranger turned to me and smiled, crookedly.

"Smart girl," he scoffed.

"Why are you… how are you doing this?" I continued, in disbelief.

"I have done what you all could not!" Drago yelled. "I have risen above the fear, and the terror of these dragons! And now they fear me!"

"They _obey_ me," He added, coldly.

I looked at Snotlout who stared at Drago in awe. The bravery he had donned not long before had vanished. His face was white as snow.

"With my command, dragons will no longer scourge this clan. This war your ancestors have fought for so many years may finally cpme to an end." Drago lowered his head and grinned. "So long as you bow to me."

Snotlout's brash Viking stubbornness immediately rebooted as he narrowed his eyes. "You come here to burn down our homes and terrorize our people. This tribe will never bow to you, _Drago."_ He held out that last word with a snarl.

Drago's smile widened, as if he was hoping for that reply. Before I could blink, a roaring column of frost descended upon Snotlout. I shielded myself from the bitter blast as tiny shards of ice bit into my skin. When I looked up, Snotlout was nowhere to be seen. In his place stood a twenty-foot sculpture of ice, covered with long, sharp spikes.

"NO!" I yelled, running to the ice. I pressed my face against the rough surface, desperately searching for my chief and my friend. I pounded my fists, but the ice was stronger than iron. I knew it was useless.

Quick as lightning, I whipped around to face Drago.

"What did you do!" I screamed, disbelief transforming into anger.

Before I could move, two Vikings grabbed my upper arms and pulled me back. They turned me around, dragging me towards the Great Hall. Without clearing the tears from my eyes, I jammed my elbow straight into the belly of one of the men. As he doubled over in pain, I grabbed his helmet and jammed the horn straight into the other man's leg. He cursed out in pain and released my arm.

I had my opportunity.

Without looking back, I ran for my life.


	2. Astrid Remembers Someone Who is Dead

**CHAPTER 2 - ASTRID**

The grey sun rose slowly over the black pile of dust that used to be a village. By now, Drago's men had given up searching for me. Smoke billowed over the still smoldering ashes of Berk, but now that the fires had died down, the winter cold had settled in again. I sat in a tree, shivering violently as I watched over what was left of my home.

It seemed that Drago only let a few select buildings remain. First was the dragon pit. Where we used to hold dragons for training, Drago's men were gathering survivors of the massacre and imprisoning them. I wasn't close enough to see exactly who was left of Berk, but the number of prisoners was higher than I was expecting. Although captive, I was relieved that so many Berkians survived.

The Great Hall was also left unscathed. Hooligan tribe leaders used to gather and commune there, planning attacks and defensive strategies. I suspected that Drago was using it for similar purposes. There was no way that Berk was this man's first, or his last target. Full of maps of the local area, the Great Hall would be the perfect place to plan invasions of the neighbouring tribes.

Finally, was a single house at the top of a hill. I wasn't quite sure why Drago had let it survive. Nobody had lived there for years. It belonged to our late chief, Stoick the Vast and his… let's say… _controversial_ son.

I had watched Drago enter there hours ago but had yet to see him leave.

Surrounding the village, dragons landed to rest from their overnight arson. They were eerily calm, compared to the frenzy of only a few hours ago. Most of the dragons wore collars, but many of them were fully armored, with metal plates fitted to their exact shape. I couldn't imagine how they could fly with all that weight.

This whole situation was unbelievable. My home: destroyed. My friends and family: either killed or captured. Our chief, Snotlout: encapsulated in ice. And it was all because of this stranger. This _Drago Bludvist_.

I wanted to kill him. I wanted to take my axe and chop his arms and legs into a thousand tiny pieces. Then I would feed him those pieces, one by one, into his throat, until his stomach burst. Finally, I would throw him into the ocean and watch him be devoured by a Scauldron.

It still wouldn't justify the grief he'd caused.

I sighed in frustration. Despite my rage, I needed to be smart about this. Somehow, I needed to find a way to free my people and get rid of this invader.

I weighed my options. I couldn't just barge in and take on an entire army of fire-breathing monsters with my battle axe. I was lucky enough to escape Drago the first time. I couldn't sneak in and free the Berkians either. Most of our weapons were destroyed in the fires. Bare fists can get a Viking pretty far most of the time, but maybe not against dragons. I could sneak up on Drago and kill him when he's not looking, but he was well protected. Again, by dragons.

I slammed my forehead against the trunk of the tree. _Dragons, dragons, dragons_. None of these choices were any good.

Drago was different than any enemy we had ever faced. We fought dragons all the time. We could fight other Vikings too, when we had to. Sure. But this? A man who could actually control the beasts? Who had an army of fire-breathing monsters who obeyed his every command? How is anybody supposed to fight that?

It was unlike anything I'd ever-

I countered my own thought before it was even finished. The truth was, this entire situation wasn't entirely unfamiliar. I'd seen something like this before. Everyone in Berk had. Someone who seemed to control the dragons. Who understood them more than any Viking in Midgard.

Hiccup.

Hiccup the Heretic.

The last time I saw him was several years ago.

* * *

 _"_ _I wanna know what's going on," I stated, looking him straight in the eye._

 _Hiccup's face was twisted in terror. He looked like he was caught red-handed, which definitely meant that he was doing something suspicious. I just had to find out what it was._

 _"_ _No one just gets as good as you do," I twirled my axe and pointed it towards him. "Especially you. Start talking."_

 _Hiccup stuttered several times, unsure of what to say, so I kept on going._

 _"_ _Are you training with someone?" I asked, casually._

 _Before he could answer, I grabbed his leather… you couldn't exactly call it a jacket. It was more of a strappy vest. A very ugly, strappy vest._

 _"_ _It better not involve this!" I scoffed. Whatever he was wearing, it looked completely unsuitable for combat._

 _"_ _I know this looks really bad, but, you see that-" he was interrupted when something snapped in the distance._

 _We weren't alone._

 _I immediately pushed Hiccup to the ground and set out to investigate. This made Hiccup become even more frantic. He started coming up with a ridiculous excuse, to which I completely ignored. I was more interested in whatever had made that noise. Hiccup was persistent however and tried to block my path. I push him to the ground again and kicked his side._

 _"_ _That's for the lies," I said. I then proceeded to hit him in the chest with the butt of my axe. He huffed out from the force._

 _"_ _And that's for everything else." I finished._

 _Suddenly, I heard a roar. It took me a moment to comprehend it, but under a shadowy cliff I saw a pair of piercing green eyes._

 _It was a dragon._

 _"_ _Get down!" I yelled, pinning down Hiccup._

 _The dragon roared and bolted straight towards us. Instinctively, I rolled to the side, grabbing my axe. I wielded it over my shoulder, preparing to strike as the monster pounced._

 _Suddenly, I felt Hiccup push me back. Tuning around, I watched as he confronted the dragon on his own, no weapons or shield. The beast was roaring and flapping its massive black wings in anger, but to my astonishment, it was not biting Hiccups head off._

 _"_ _No, no! It's okay, it's okay. She's a friend." I heard Hiccup say._

 _Suddenly, the dragon settled down. The roaring became a disgruntled growl._

 _"_ _You just scared him," Hiccup said calmly._

 _"_ _I scared_ _ **him**_ _?" I cried._

 _The dragon pressed closer to me, baring its teeth in aggression. I watched as Hiccup tried keep the dragon away from me with his bare hands, but the dragon was completely unfazed by the human, its sights set on me. Realization hit me like a ton of stone. Somehow, these two actually knew each other._

 _"_ _Who… is him?" I said, dumbfounded._

 _"_ _Astrid, Toothless," Hiccup said, as if he was introducing two acquaintances at a party. "Toothless, Astrid."_

 _Toothless, the dragon who most definitely had teeth, snarled._

 _I couldn't believe it. Somehow Hiccup, the scrawniest, most good-for-nothing Viking on Berk, had gotten a dragon to not immediately flame him into a crisp. I shook my head. I needed to get out of there before the dragon changed its mind. Let him eat Hiccup. It would save me the trouble of killing him myself._

 _Without hesitation, I ran back to the Village as fast as I could._


	3. A Bad Plan Goes Exactly How You'd Expect

**_Thank you all who subscribed and favourited this story! I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I have enjoy writing it._**

 ** _CommanderGreya, GostRider, & Guest - Thank you all, it means a lot._**

 ** _Guest - I see where you're coming from. Astrid is so much more than violent. She is also smart, resourceful, and as we see in the first movie, she is also eventually understanding and compassionate towards Hiccup. I just don't think that she hands out that compassion without it having been earned. Remember that Hiccup stole her glory and her win in the arena in a very short period of time, something she had worked very hard to get and something that she felt he didn't really deserve. I don't think it was really until he took her for a ride on Toothless that she really understood where he was coming from._**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3 - ASTRID**

I carefully made my down to the village, dusting my tracks in the snow as I went. The last thing I wanted was for one of Drago's men to follow me here.

Peering behind I tree, I looked down at what was the former home of Hiccup Haddock. It wasn't much different than most of the other homes in Berk, except that it stood higher up on the hill, and was much more secluded than usual.

Oh, and it wasn't lying in charred remains.

I beelined towards a closer tree to get a better view of the entrance. Peeking over the trunk, I noticed two guards conversing at the entrance of the house. I assumed that Drago must still be inside.

I quickly made my way to another tree to get a better view of the backside of the house. To my disappointment, there was another soldier stationed there as well.

Somehow, I needed to get past those guards and into that house.

Drago Bludvist was controlling dragons. Berkians, as Vikings, did not stand a chance against an army of both dragons and men. That was very clear. The only chance we had of defeating Drago was to figure out how he was controlling the dragons. Then we could put a stop to it.

Hiccup was the key.

The way he commanded that Night Fury not to kill me that morning. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen… until today. I remembered that stupid little notebook he used to carry around with his inventions. The kid wrote down everything. If there was even a _bird_ he liked, he would sit there, recording its behavior for hours. There was no reason that he didn't record what he had learned about dragons in there as well. If there was some kind of secret to dragon control, it would be written down in that notebook.

If there was even the slightest chance that it was in that house, I had to try and find it.

I ripped off a piece of my jacket and lifted it to my face to take a whiff. The Monstrous Nightmare guts from last night had soaked into the fabric, giving it a noxious, repugnant scent. It was perfect.

I waited until the guard wasn't looking. Quietly, I made my way to the back door. Once I was close enough, I lunged, fast as lightning, pinning him down. With my knees, I locked his arms to the ground and pressed the gut-soaked piece of cloth to his face so he couldn't cry out. He struggled, his eyes becoming frantic as he could do nothing but smell the horrible stench of dragon guts. Shortly after, he became limp and I released my hold.

There was no time to lose. Without a sound, I opened the back door and stepped into the house.

It was quiet inside. I could only hear the feint murmurs of the guard conversing at the front of the building. The house was riddled with dust and it smelled of mildew. A few lamps were lit. I suspected that Drago was responsible. I took a few steps forward, the lamps casting large shadows on the walls. If Drago was still in here, it wouldn't be long before I he noticed me. I had to hurry.

I opened a rather wide door. Inside was nothing but a very large bed and several weapons lined up across the wall. Underneath each were written inscriptions.

Under an axe were the words _Gronkle_.

Under a mace was _Deadly Nadder._

Under a severed dragon's horn was _Monstrous Nightmare_.

I understood. This was Stoick the Vast's bedroom, and these weapons were the weapons he had used to kill his first dragons. It definitely wasn't Hiccups style. I highly doubted there would be any secret dragon notes here.

I found a staircase and made my way up. Opening another door, I spotted a desk with papers scattered everywhere. The room was absolutely trashed with notes. Pieces of metal and leather were littered around the room. Probably failed inventions. This was it.

I scanned the papers, looking for anything that looked even remotely like a dragon. There were some weird schematics for strange machines. Some pictures of the less aggressive wildlife. Birds and rabbits, but nothing reptilian.

There had to be something. Anything.

I kept digging through the papers. Double checking each one. There was absolutely nothing. Without thinking, I pounded my fist on the desk in frustration.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" I heard Drago say behind me.

My heart leapt out of my chest. I whipped around to see the tyrant standing in the doorway, a smug look on his scarred face. In his hand he held a black notebook.

"Because I have certainly found what _I'm_ looking for," he smirked.

Instinctively, I dove for the notebook. The quick action surprised Drago, and he was unable to react fast enough. I grasped the notebook tight in my hand and smiled in satisfaction.

It was short lived. I felt a strong kick to the gut. As I doubled over, I felt Drago grasp my wrist and yank the book away.

"I underestimated you," he whispered into my ear. "It will not happen again."

He released me, pushing me to the ground. When I looked up, Drago held the book over one of the lamps.

"No!" I yelled, trying to get up as quickly as possible, but it was too late. The book was already engulfed in flames.

I felt myself yanked up by my upper arms. It was the two guards.

"Put her with the others," Drago commanded.

I felt myself being dragged away, but I didn't struggle this time.

Drago had won.


End file.
